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You can reject everything and still access the website, at least in my country. You can decline to unblock the adblock extension in the web browser and still read the content—you simply go back and return to the page.
 
Not sure if this was sarcastic, but I'll assume it wasn't.

Imagine for a moment that a service like IMDB can no longer monetize through advertisement. Or snopes or Macrumors, or Google, DuckDuckGo, etc...

How much are you willing to spend for search, or anything you view online. Corporate web sites could build the cost into their advertising budget (like they did in the 90s, some still do). But "self-hosted" sites would disappear pretty quickly, not many hobbyist could afford to become popular. Most forums would go away, cause users aren't going to pay. Reddit, gone, CNN, FOX, The Guardian, gone. Luckily, you'd still have state run news, that's always reliable /s.

Do you remember using the internet in the 90s? It was new and cool. But it was also dialup, which didn't matter much cause there wasn't really that much to see.

I'm not crazy about ads, but I'm also not crazy about paying subscriptions for everything I do or might want to do.
I'm dead serious. Most web services we access through closed apps rather than an open browser. The internet as a network/utility doesn't need advertising to function as its ISP infrastructure maintained via fees or taxes. I'm a keen reader/writer on Medium and the subscription model works for closed platforms, completely eliminating spam and trolls in the process. People only ******** because they're bored and its free.

Social media is the asbestos of the internet and will only die once adverts disappear because nobody is going to pay money to use Instagram or X. On the flip side the videogame forum I've been using since 1998 still exists because it span itself off from its corporate origin and became self-funded via the community. Places like this self-moderate but are also quite insular. This helps keep fringe elements of the web exactly where they belong, never gaining mainstream traction.

The self-hosted websites I remember were little internet hamlets of 3-10 people all hanging around a guestbook and were wonderful little communities. They don't need to be big or popular to exist.

If news websites ceased to exist people would still buy newspapers. There would also be a lot less anxiety in the world as a result. With nothing but hobbyist sites on the open internet, what use is Google? If I want to find local tradespeople or the best deals at the shop then I'll put my shoes on and use the real world.
 
Imagine for a moment that a service like IMDB can no longer monetize through advertisement. Or snopes or Macrumors, or Google, DuckDuckGo, etc...
Imagine for a moment, a world where services are created by people with a passion for creating things for people. An internet like the internet when it was relatively new. One that wasn’t filled with AI-generated slop websites crowding out useful information. One that is more humane. One without engagement bait and algorithms that are designed to make people angry and upset

I think you just might’ve come up with the solution to most or all of the problems plaguing the internet today
 
I am all for opt-in cookies, but at the same time it is strange, that in some countries organ donations are opt-opt, while cookies are opt-in. So without explicit consent they can take your organs, but not save cookies in your browser.
 
I do like the idea of requiring any organization who wants to store cookies or track users being required to accept a pre-formatted/standard selection that could be stored in a browsers setting (if the browser author wants it there), ideally this could be global or a per website (or organization) preference.

Requiring browser to do this solves all of that. It just makes a ton of sense to apply what they did with location/mic/camera to cookies.
 
the only ones annoying are where you can't decline or accept functional only, and/or are directed to chose, only to find a list of 99 'vendors' with 'legitimate interest' on by default - wtf is 'legitimate' and who decides? limit the options to all/functional only, and go get useful elsewhere.
 
the only ones annoying are where you can't decline or accept functional only, and/or are directed to chose, only to find a list of 99 'vendors' with 'legitimate interest' on by default - wtf is 'legitimate' and who decides? limit the options to all/functional only, and go get useful elsewhere.
Simple, decline all!
 
Simple, decline all!

if I wasn't clear, now and then you get one where you can only accept, or have to go through a mile long list turning everything off manually - should be illegal (shakes fist).

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how am I supposed to put these in a box above I have no idea, the 5 line text box is lacking!
 
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Decline also means, don't open such sites.
 
invaluable advice, am I supposed to know each site's cookie consent settings beforehand?
If you live in the EU, it’s quite simple. Every time you open a website, it must display a consent popup. If you don’t agree with what it asks, you simply don’t visit it. That website is likely not necessary and/or may not be trustworthy.
 
What’s so protective about it? If I deny cookies then most sites won’t work at all. What are they really protecting, so that I know I am being tracked for ads and stuff? This is plain stupid, my AdBlock protects me better than EU
 
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If you live in the EU, it’s quite simple. Every time you open a website, it must display a consent popup. If you don’t agree with what it asks, you simply don’t visit it. That website is likely not necessary and/or may not be trustworthy.

I know it must, but why must it not give me the option to decline, instead of this half-arsed configuration, this shouldn't be an option, and you can still view the site in reader view.

What’s so protective about it? If I deny cookies then most sites won’t work at all. What are they really protecting, so that I know I am being tracked for ads and stuff? This is plain stupid, my AdBlock protects me better than EU

there are functional cookies, and then there's the rest.
 
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